This publish was co-authored by Mike Emard Principal Program Supervisor, Azure Storage.
SQL Server on Azure digital machines brings cloud agility, elasticity, and scalability advantages to SQL Server workloads. SQL digital machine gives full management on the working system, digital machine measurement, storage subsystem, and the extent of manageability wanted in your workload. Preconfigured SQL Server picture from Azure Market comes with free SQL Server manageability advantages like Automated Backup and Automated Patching. When you select to self-install SQL Server on Azure digital machines then you possibly can register with SQL digital machine useful resource supplier to get all the advantages accessible to SQL market photos and simplified license administration.
Microsoft supplies an availability SLA of 99.95 % that covers simply the digital machine not SQL Server. For SQL Server excessive availability on Azure digital machines, it’s best to host not less than two digital machine situations in an availability set (for availability at 99.95 %) or totally different availability zones (for availability at 99.99 %) and configure a excessive availability function for SQL Server, corresponding to All the time On availability teams or failover cluster occasion.
Immediately, we’re asserting a brand new possibility for SQL Server excessive availability with SQL Server failover cluster with Azure premium file shares. Premium file shares are solid-state drive backed constant low latency information shares which are absolutely supported to be used with SQL Server failover cluster occasion for SQL Server 2012 and above on Home windows Server 2012 and above.
Azure premium file shares supply the next key benefits for SQL Server failover cluster occasion
Ease of administration
- File shares are absolutely managed by Azure.
- Provisioning may be very easy.
- Resize capability in seconds with zero downtime by setting a property of the share. Rising your storage capability as your database grows is easy and doesn’t trigger unavailability, there isn’t a have to provision a number of further storage up entrance.
- Improve enter/output per second (IOPS) in seconds with zero downtime by resizing your share. Improve the dimensions of your premium share to get the IOPS your workload wants.
- Seasonal workloads can briefly enhance IOPS and resize again down as simply as growing. Once more, zero downtime!
Decrease the work in your digital machines
- Enter or output is offloaded to your managed file share so that you might be able to use a smaller, inexpensive, digital machine.
Burstable enter or output capability
- Premium file share (PFS) supplies automated bursting for IOPS capability as much as a restrict based mostly on a credit score system. In case your workload wants occasional bursts, then it’s best to leverage this free and absolutely automated enter or output capability. Observe the premium information provisioning and bursting documentation to study extra.
Zonal Redundancy
- Zonally redundant storage accessible in some areas. You possibly can deploy SQL Server failover cluster occasion with one digital machine in a single availability zone and one other in a unique zone to realize 99.9 % excessive availability each for compute and the storage.
Premium file shares present IOPS and all through capability that may meet the wants of many workloads. Nevertheless, for enter or output intensive workloads, take into account SQL Server failover cluster occasion with storage areas direct based mostly on managed premium disks or ultra-disks. You must test the IOPS exercise of your present atmosphere and confirm that premium information will present the IOPS you want earlier than beginning a migration. Use Home windows Efficiency Monitor disk counters and monitor whole IOPS (disk transfers per sec) and throughput (disk bytes per sec) required for SQL Server knowledge, log and temp knowledge base information. Many workloads have bursting enter or output so it’s a good suggestion to test throughout heavy utilization durations and word the max IOPS in addition to common IOPS. Premium file shares present IOPS based mostly on the dimensions of the share. Premium information additionally present complimentary bursting the place you possibly can burst your enter or output to triple the baseline quantity for as much as one hour.
Use the step-by-step information for configuring SQL failover cluster occasion with Azure premium information to configure a SQL Server failover cluster occasion with PFS at this time and leverage the brand new applied sciences and improvements Azure supplies to modernize SQL Server workloads. Please share your suggestions by UserVoice. We look ahead to listening to from you!
